National Arboretum Canberra Masterplan

Taylor Cullity Lethlean with Tonkin Zulaikha Greer

The disastrous Canberra bush fires of 2003 created a wonderful opportunity for a major piece of landscape infrastructure in Canberra and, taking inspiration from Griffin’s vision for the national capital, Taylor Cullity Lethlean’s competition winning entry grabbed this opportunity with both hands showing just what highly skilled landscape architects can achieve when given a virtually open canvas.

Strikingly, given the site’s rolling topography, the conceptual ‘100 Forests/100 Gardens’ is based on a staggered orthogonal grid draped over the landscape rather than succumbing to the temptation to simply following the contours. Within this grid are forests containing 100 rare and endangered tree species which are displayed not just for their scientific or cultural interest, but also to redefine the meaning of a public garden in the 21^st century. Interspersed within the forests are 100 secret gardens, each with a different character and each adding another layer of complexity and delight for the visitor.

It is almost a given that landscape architects will rarely enjoy the experience of seeing their creations in the fully mature state and that is true of the National Arboretum. Indeed, as the designers state, ‘it has no completion date, its experiences and messages will continually evolve and adapt; creating experiences of true community within a sublime place that will grow with the people, the city and the nation’. However the design is so successful that even in its early years it has an extraordinarily powerful presence, combining the visual and botanical interest of the trees with beautifully sculpted landforms able to be appreciated at a multitude of scales and providing a diversity of experiences.

The designers have succeeded magnificently in creating a legacy for the nation and one which is of genuine international significance. Taylor Cullity Lethlean are to be congratulated on their achievement.

Greg Grabasch, UDLA 

WA Women in Landscape Architecture

This short film by Greg Grabasch is based on a series of informal interviews of West Australian women working in the profession of Landscape Architecture.

The idea behind the project arose from a debate at National Council as to whether there should be an institute award specifically for women. This then morphed into the question of whether there would be other ways in which the profession could better support women and possibly more appropriate ways to address the potential gender imbalances as well as more creative ways to support creative professional women and, finally, would it not be better to ask women themselves about the most appropriate way to address the topic and, in general, what actual gender issues are actually faced within contemporary practice?’

The film is a passionate portrayal of women in the profession and their strong sense of shared responsibility and empathy for their community of practice. It challenges the profession to develop engagement and practice models that are more inclusive, supportive and nurturing of women whilst providing an historical record of women’s views of landscape architecture in an era of significant growth and change. The choice of film as a medium provides an open and accessible platform for stimulating discussion and awareness around gender issues facing women in professional practice.

This Award recognises the generosity of spirit in Greg’s work for initiating and funding the film and also for his deep commitment to developing an understanding of some of the preconceptions and therefore untangling some of the issues facing women in contemporary practice. The film demonstrates that an inclusive and collaborative approach can support the institute’s decision making and sets a precedent for how Council might signal the benefits of honest and open discourse. It is a film of great sensitivity and respect for all those involved in its production. I commend the film and its insights to the profession as a whole.

North Adelaide and Adelaide Villa Gardens

Taylor Cullity Lethlean

North Adelaide and Adelaide Villa Gardens. Taylor Cullity Lethlean. Grant Hancock.  

As our cities become ever denser and our lives ever more frenetic, places of retreat where stillness, mystery and hermetic pursuits can be explored take on new significance. These small domestic gardens in the inner city offer another way to enjoy being outside either in private or with others. They have a difficult to define richness, more by exclusion than an attempt to pack too many experiences into such small spaces. They display the work of a quietly assured hand, building on a knowledge of the local canon, executing careful and considered compositions with a restrained palette of plants and materials. These are quiet and sophisticated places which belie their small scale. Selected works of art are simply placed for appreciation at different scales and the height of the planting emphasises an empty sky as part of the experience. They are finely crafted, simple to maintain and somehow seem to embody a distinctly Adelaide character.

NATIONAL AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR DESIGN

The Australian Garden Completion
Taylor Cullity Lethlean with Paul Thompson

The Australian Garden Completion. TCL with Paul Thompson. John Gollings. 

The final stage of this project completes an extraordinary venture into what has already become a world renowned experiment into a new type of public garden where nature and artifice are synthesised to provide an experience and appreciation of the Australian landscape which is at once both tangible and abstract. This is a brave work which in lesser hands could have become a parody of its intent and kitsch in its execution. Instead, the work is beautifully wrought with skilful selection of materials, expert scaling of key landscape elements and bold use of contemporary art integrated into the work in a manner which tends to emphasise the natural elements. This is a mature work, which develops ideas and lessons from so many previous projects and concerns developed over many years. Although obviously a large garden, there is a perception that it is even larger again by the manipulation of scale and perspective and the adroit revelation of certain prospects. There is an inventiveness in this project beyond the immediate attraction of its visual appeal. The almost graphic quality of the plan, and land art quality of its experience is underpinned by significant skills, knowledge and experience of the landscapes portrayed. Only with that depth of understanding can such a distilled abstraction of the landscape be so successfully achieved.

"There is an inventiveness in this project beyond the immediate attraction of its visual appeal. The almost graphic quality of the plan, and land art quality of its experience is underpinned by significant skills, knowledge and experience of the landscapes portrayed. Only with that depth of understanding can such a distilled abstraction of the landscape be so successfully achieved."

NATIONAL AWARD FOR DESIGN
Keast Park
Site Office

Keast Park. Site Office. Andrew North. 

This work resulted from an earlier Masterplan incorporating new community facilities, car parking and a new landscape connection to the beach. The core landscape function was to assist in the integration of the various facilities and functions into the experience of a park. A timber deck is the key device to link elements across the site. It has a careful resolution that winds under the main new building physically and visually linking the north and south parts of the park. The deck form has been manipulated around existing stands of banksia and folded into a fence, providing a windbreak, and further sculpted to form bench seating in the lee side out of the wind. This key device in weathered timber, is highly successful in encourage users to engage with the wider functions of the park and its material condition and sculptural form is very apt to a beachside place.

NATIONAL AWARD FOR DESIGN
River Quay
Cardno

River Quay. Cardno. John Gollings. 

River Quay is part of a new dining and recreation development at the southern end of the larger Southbank precinct in Brisbane. Enjoying a wonderful strategic location on the riverbank, facing north with a direct view to the CBD skyline. Although small in size and integrated with a number of well-designed new restaurant and café pavilions, it provides a much needed new green space in a city where there is a paucity of parkland. Its understated form of grassed embankments and terraces facilitates a number of both informal and formal or programmed activities. The key gesture of an elegant sweep in the pedestrian boulevard away from the river and in front of the dining areas sets up a series of gestures abstracting “tide lines”. Particularly successful are the new terraces offering passive views over the river and the city skyline, discreetly lit at night and the broad flat lawn area where children can play under easy observation near the water’s edge. This has quickly become a very popular part of Southbank. Where it might easily have been overworked, it shows an elegant restraint that capitalises on the key assets of the waterfront, aspect and prospect.

NATIONAL AWARD FOR DESIGN
Prince Alfred Park & Pool
Sue Barnsley Design with Neeson Murcutt Architects and City of Sydney

Prince Alfred Park & Pool, Sue Barnsley Design with Neeson Murcutt Architects and City of Sydney. Brett Boardman.

The remaking of Prince Alfred Park and its pool was based on the principle of premating landscape over built form. The removal of the old pool facility building from the middle of the park allowed the landscape to be opened up and returned to its pastoral quality. New pathways echo desire lines and adjoining swales collect stormwater for reuse on the playing field. More formal activities are concentrated around the edge of the park allowing a predominant character of rolling grassland in a manner which blurs the park perimeter. The green roof to the new pool building, folded out of the landscape, is planted with native meadow grasses through which the building seems to disappear and become part of the park landscape. There is a particular attention to playful detail, such as the light and ventilation funnels protruding through the grass roof as follies, the “Christo” like yellow umbrellas on the pool lawn, the “running fence” over the pool building roof and the baby blue sculptural park lamp posts. Added to this are the oblique references to the park’s Victorian heritage with its love of exotica played out. This not to deny the serious ecological agenda underlying all the work but rather demonstrates that for this park, the co-ordination and collaboration in developing it’s particular visual language is as important as the key planning strategies in making this a much loved place by the community.

NATIONAL AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR PLANNING

South West Victoria Landscape Assessment Study
Planisphere

South West Victoria Landscape Assessment Study. Planisphere. Kate Dundas. 

The South West Victoria Landscape Assessment Study (SWLAS) assesses the character and significance of the landscapes of a large part of Victoria, leading to the preparation of planning scheme policy and guidance to ensure their protection and management into the future. It establishes repeatable and reliable methods to investigate and analyse the land as it is today. This is fundamental landscape planning, and provides holistic information to enable future change (what and where) decision making.

An important component of the project was determining the landscape types and assessing the landscape character of the countryside. Then, to evaluate the relative significance within Victoria, the landscape architects used a comparative analysis method to establish places of regional and state significance. To determine these most significant landscapes the Study synthesised the landscape units and their views for significance in aesthetic, historic, environmental and social values.

This study was extensive in its investigations, including GIS mapping, field work and desk-top research. However the work differs from an environmental audit because it involves interpretation and perception, rather than just making a record of knowledge or facts.

The landscape touches everyone’s lives, so the planning for it should necessarily involve its population. A key component in the Study was the collaboration within the communities, a partnership approach to engagement.

The Study translated the information into directions and details for landscape protection and management. This was done for each local government jurisdiction with planning scheme controls and a “municipal implementation toolkit”. This Study was executed with clarity and thoroughness and the suite of end products provide an easily understood summary of a complex process suitable for a range of audiences, making the work accessible and useable into the future.

This Study provides an exemplary practice template that can (and should) be applied elsewhere to better understand the land, a prerequisite for supporting economic growth and infrastructure investment in the ‘right’ locations. The jury congratulates Planisphere on its achievement.

NATIONAL AWARD FOR PLANNING
Wianamatta Regional Park Masterplan
Environmental Partnership NSW Pty Ltd

Wianamatta Regional Park Masterplan. Environmental Partnership NSW Pty Ltd. 

This Masterplan was prepared to guide the establishment of a new Regional Park – a rare opportunity and major responsibility for the landscape architect led team to shape a regional open space. The site, covering approximately 900 hectares, is part of the former Australian Defence Industries site at St Marys, some 45 kms west of Sydney.

The Masterplan seeks to achieve a sustainable relationship between natural and cultural conservation and recreation, the key drivers of Regional Park management under NPWS policy. Of these, natural conservation has been the foundation principle to inform site planning and recommended usage, focussing on the creek lines and remnant endangered Alluvial (Cumberland Plain) Woodland.

The park has to accommodate the range of recreational functions for the surrounding urban development sites. The work has detailed infrastructure and visitor facilities, traffic circulation and access networks, while managing the park’s remnant flora and fauna as a biodiversity refuge. To resolve the multiple competing issues, the project was undertaken with a collaborative approach to the many stakeholder entities and in parallel with development of the Conservation and Management Plan.

The park will provide people with many ways to experience and enjoy nature. The complex decision making required is unseen in the apparently simple sequences of spaces created. This project is respectful of the client needs and addresses the need for biodiversity conservation while providing a spectrum of recreational opportunities for present and future generations.

The jury found this project to be exemplary.

NATIONAL AWARD FOR PLANNING
GCRT 2031 (Gold Coast Rapid Transit Corridor Study)
HASSELL

Gold Coast Rapid Transit Corridor Study. Hassell. 

This study provides an integrated growth framework for a linear 2000 hectare urban corridor and addresses two major drivers of change for the Gold Coast - a rapid transit system and the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Encompassing the existing iconic coastal strip and Surfers Paradise, the Study identifies how and where urban renewal can occur along the full stretch of the corridor. The Study tackles head on the issue of traffic dominated thoroughfares, to advocate for the pedestrian experience on cooler, greener and more attractive streets.

The Study documents proposed interventions on the broad scale of the entire corridor as well as showing aspirational designs for a series of streetscape types and public realm spaces. With extensive graphic materials the Study illustrates how local places and streets can become more liveable and cool with more shade, better connected and activated with less traffic. An important part of addressing the Gold Coast identity was connecting people to the water as part of the movement network, demonstrating better access to water edges with the concept of the ocean way and the canal way.

A key feature of this study is its elevation of landscape as the key to improving intensively developed urban environments. The manner in which it resolves and communicates the complex interrelated issues across multiple scales, demonstrates a very high level of professional skill.

NATIONAL AWARD FOR PLANNING
Slacks Creek Futures Study
Lat27

Slacks Creek Futures Study. Lat27. Water Parkland Perspective. 

This project was entered into the Land Management category, however the jury determined that it was better suited to Landscape Planning.

The waterways that dissect Logan city have economic, environmental and social values and are an important component of the cityscape. The consultant team undertook a strategic planning process and the Study documents a long term vision for the 12 square kilometre catchment to aid Council in undertaking transformative activities to meet the identified objectives.

The Study researched and identified the issues, then documented a series of measures and green infrastructure investments for waterway improvement and parkland activation. As Slacks Creek winds its way through the city, it passes across four interface types - residential areas, industrial and commercial centres and infill development sites. The Study illustrates a vision of connecting people with a healthier urban waterway.

From the broad scale of the catchment and down to the details of proposed parklands, this Study clearly and powerfully communicates the potential of the future improvements and demonstrates the multi-disciplinary collaboration that is needed in landscape planning.

NATIONAL AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR URBAN DESIGN

Revitalising Central Dandenong: Lonsdale Street Redevelopment
BKK Architects/Taylor Cullity Lethlean Partnership

Revitalising Central Dandenong: Lonsdale Street Redevelopment. BKK Architects/TCL Partnership. John Gollings. 

The redevelopment of Lonsdale Street is the first major infrastructure project delivered as part of the State government’s larger ‘Revitalising Central Dandenong’ program.

Lonsdale Street had, in recent decades, changed from a prosperous retail spine to a traffic dominated arterial route which created physical and psychological barriers to the city. The designers, who refer to themselves as ‘urban curators’, challenged the status quo by concentrating the vehicular traffic to the centre of the street and creating generous and beautifully designed pedestrian spaces onto which the existing shops now open. The pedestrian realm has been defined by a strong yet simple paving pattern which, with the lush planting, ties the whole together.

The landscape architects have created a brave new urban street in the tradition of the grand Melbourne boulevards and in doing so they have re-created the heart of central Dandenong. Importantly this was a project led by landscape architects assisted by a team of engineers along with way finding consultants, lighting designer and an artist. This is of great significance to the profession and follows other similar recent major engineering works where public authorities have recognised the benefits of an urban design/landscape architecture led solution. Let us hope that it is a trend which continues. With outcomes of this quality that should be a given.

NATIONAL AWARD FOR URBAN DESIGN
North Wharf Promenade, Silo Park and Jellicoe Street
Taylor Cullity Lethlean with Wraight + Associates

North Wharf Promenade, Silo Park and Jellicoe Street. TCL with Wraight + Associates. Simon Devitt. 

Like most working urban waterfronts Auckland’s North Wharf Promenade was an undistinguished mix of maritime sheds, parking and large areas of asphalt with few redeeming features that would make it an attractive destination for locals and tourists. However in recent year’s redevelopment of the entire Auckland waterfront has gradually brought new uses into the area – marinas, an event centre, restaurants, bars, shops and so on.

TCL/WA, in their design for the promenade (the first stage of a bigger renewal project), have successfully managed the difficult task of retaining the essential ‘grungy’ qualities of the working waterfront whilst at the same time introducing more pedestrian friendly spaces and treatments with limited contemporary interventions. Partially this is because the previous maritime and fishing activities have been retained in situ and, in a sense, celebrated but it is also to do with utilising and interpreting the archaeological patterns and details which all mesh together to give us the essential sense of place.

North Wharf is now a hugely popular place not just for eating and drinking but also for community events. It will set the framework for the continuing redevelopment of the waterfront and, as with much successful urban design, its beauty lies in its simplicity. The designers are to be congratulated.

NATIONAL AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION

Living Architecture: Where Science Meets Design
Fifth Creek Studio

Living Architecture: Where Science Meets Design. Fifth Creek Studio. 

This three year research project led by landscape architects Fifth Creek Studio with support from architects Woods Bagot and scientists from the Universities of Adelaide and South Australia is ground breaking. It demonstrates a new understanding of the benefits of “living architecture” and sets a new benchmark for design in hot, dry (Mediterranean) climates and is of relevance around the world.

The project trialed two different systems for two buildings in Adelaide - a shallow plant bed (roof garden) on the roof of one and a multi-panel hybrid ‘living wall’ on another. The team measured and monitored multiple data sets to quantify the exact nature of the microclimate on these two sites and the effect that the two vegetation based interventions had on the buildings through different seasons. The work demonstrates how natural systems can be used to improve a building’s thermal performance and can reduce the urban heat island effect and greenhouse gas emissions.

The project was able to quantify building insulation effects and ambient air temperature reduction. For example, the living wall prototype reduced the building skin temperature during summer by 8^oC and reduced the heat passing into the building through the façade by 35% (2.4W/m²); in winter heat loss was reduced by 3.6W/m²; and, importantly, the plants removed an average 11% of CO² per year from the surrounding environment.

Interestingly, the research showed that water in the substrate of a roof garden poses a major thermal issue since water conducts heat well, suggesting a new roof garden profile for hot, dry climates.

The modular design of both the living wall and roof garden resolved practical construction and maintenance issues ensuring that the design is both feasible and repeatable and able to be retrofitted to existing buildings or designed-in to new buildings.

The research was completed in 2013 and a range of excellent communication products were produced. From simple fact sheets to technical papers, multiple audiences are exposed to the creative thinking with effective hand drawn diagrams explaining the design principles and photographs to display the sequential changes in vegetation growth.

The project responds directly to the urgent challenges associated with climate change and the livability of hot, dry Australian cities and towns.This research imparts timely new knowledge and displays excellence in the application of science and innovative design.

NATIONAL AWARD FOR RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION

Tickle Booklets
Taylor Cullity Lethlean

As a profession landscape architects generally tend not to record the reasons for the success or failure of their projects to provide guidance for themselves or others in the future. Taylor Cullity Lethlean has recognized this and has instituted a dedicated research unit to capture and distil the lessons learnt, not only from their own projects but also from projects designed by other firms. More importantly they have generously set out to share their research with their colleagues in the landscape architecture community.

The research is carried out through a culture of staff involvement and involves alliances with fellow professionals and the medium through which it is disseminated is the Tickle series of booklets, of which five have been produced to date on topics such as Waterfronts and Streetscapes. These booklets are beautifully designed to present the material in a serious yet easily comprehended format, resisting the temptation to overcomplicate the data.

The jury commends TCL for this important contribution to the profession.

NATIONAL AWARD FOR RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION
Making Landscape Architecture in Australia
Dr Andrew John Saniga, The University of Melbourne

Despite the fact that the profession of landscape architecture has only a relatively short history in Australia, it has, until now, never been properly recorded. Indeed it is notable that many of today’s younger landscape architects are totally unaware of the genesis of the profession in this country. Andrew Saniga’s book is thus more than timely.

It is clearly the outcome of a large amount of research and it provides a compelling narrative of the significant movements, projects and individuals who shaped the discipline over the last century within an Australian context.

The book provides an engaging account of the distinct values and psyche of several generations of landscape architects and their battles for professional territory, passion for environmental stewardship and staunch advocacy for the natural and built environment. It signals the maturity of the profession and leaves a valuable legacy for the discipline that will contribute to the future development and discourse of landscape architecture at both a national and international level.

The jury congratulates Dr Saniga on his achievement and encourages others in the profession to continue adding to this body of knowledge.

NATIONAL AWARD FOR RESEARCH AND COMMUNICATION
Lake Pedder: From Inundation to Restoration
Corkery Consulting

Lake Pedder: From Inundation to Restoration. Corkery Consulting. Google Earth Pro, 2013. 

In 1972 the pristine Lake Pedder with its beautiful beach was flooded, despite international condemnation, to create a massive dam for the Tasmanian hydro-electric scheme. It was a hugely significant event in the history of environmental activism in Australia. In recent years however the demand for hydroelectric power has dropped such that it has now become feasible to restore the lake. Initial attempts by the Lake Pedder Restoration Committee (LPRC) to explain the complex process were hindered by the lack of simple and clear illustrations.

Corkery Consulting were originally engaged to produce a slide presentation but, using their advanced graphic skills, were able to work with the LPRC to produce theLake Pedder – from Inundation to Restorationanimated visualization which shows the history of the damming and the potential methodology for this to be reversed.

The landscape architects have succeeded admirably in their task of illustrating the balance that can be achieved between environmental, social and economic values.

NATIONAL AWARD FOR LAND MANAGEMENT

Wanginu Park
GbLA Landscape Architects

Wanginu Park. GbLA Landscape Architects. Andrew Lloyd. 

Set on the edge of a new residential subdivision at Sunbury in Victoria Wanginu Park is a sensitive and beautifully executed restoration of a highly degraded landscape. Exercising design restraint, the park now appears to seamlessly merge with the pre settlement qualities of the place. Underpinned by a skilful landscape masterplan developed in collaboration with allied specialists, the result perfectly illustrates a deep understanding of constructed ecologies that underpin landscape systems.

Through a series of subtle and sensitive interventions, GbLA has revealed the natural beauty of the site and re-connected with the heritage and cultural context of the site to provide an engaging place for the local community and native fauna.

The project demonstrates a commitment to the long term management processes that are required to re-establish a landscape that can promote natural recruitment and hence become low maintenance and self-sustaining. It provides a new benchmark for the sensitive landscape management of ecological corridors as a setting for new communities.

NATIONAL AWARD FOR LAND MANAGEMENT
Toomuc Creek
Fitzgerald Frisby Landscape Architecture

Toomuc Creek. Fitzgerald Frisby Landscape Architecture. Andrew Lloyd. 

This project was entered into the Design Category but the jury considered that it was more appropriate to consider it under the Land Management Category.

The environment of Toomuc Creek, on the edge of one of the Melbourne’s expanding growth corridors, has been brilliantly transformed by Fitzgerald Frisby from a highly modified agricultural landscape to a piece of vibrant new green infrastructure. Importantly, the project challenged the delicate relationship between habitat and open space provision in a well-researched collaboration between landscape architects, ecologists, artists and engineers.

The design-led approach actively negotiates the tension between ecological systems and open space networks. The result translates complex technical requirements into high-quality design initiatives with a strong ecological underpinning. This includes the creation of habitat specifically for growling grass frogs separate to wetlands linked to the stormwater treatment system and the open space system.

A series of small scale interventions enrich the identity of the place and experience of users including an abstract artwork that interprets the local hydrology, a secondary trail network that morphs into a ‘kid’ scale BMX track, old bridge timbers that are reinvented as key pedestrian elements and a truck turning-circle that houses a netball court in its spare time.